Remembering Piddletrenthide – a picture book of village memories

Published in November 2015, this A4 book is 200 pages long and with many photos – several previously unseen by most villagers past and present – and traces the social history of Piddletrenthide from the end of the 19th century to the present. There are many personally contributed memories.

Copies are available from Bridget Bowen at Ivy House, Piddletrenthide (please call at the front door only, because of the dogs) or by post – email beepeebee66@icloud.com All profits from the sale of the book will go to the Memorial Hall maintenance fund.

The soft cover version is £20.00 p&p is £5.00. The Limited Edition hardback version has sold out.

INTRODUCTION FROM THE BOOK

When it was first suggested we should write a book about the village we’d called home for 25 years, we had no inkling what such a project would involve, or the new friends we would make, let alone the extent to which villagers, both past and present, would share with us their own personal memories. On arriving in the village back in 1986, we soon pursued research at the local Record Office, in an attempt to trace the history of our own property, known to be a former pub. So we started our new project at the Record Office (now Family History Centre) examining the 1901 Census, (in 2008, the latest available,) which we felt to be ‘within living memory’, as some might be able to recall stories told to them by their parents, alive at that time. But then we needed to find out more about the people behind the names we had found, so it seemed a good idea to hold an exhibition and invite folk along with their own pictures and stories.

So an exhibition was held at the nearby Memorial Hall on Jan 9th 2009 for which we found a small handful of old photos, hastily enlarged to A3 size to cover big display boards. Many villagers past and present turned up with an amazing selection of personal photos. As it turned out, that was to be the first of several exhibitions stretching on to November 2013.

Each time increasing numbers attended, some even from overseas, the event becoming like a village reunion with faces being incredulously recognised, despite the passing years. One family even used the event as an annual reunion, starting the celebration with lunch at the nearby pub.

Despite our initial uncertainty as to whether we had enough material for a book, the mound of photos produced was staggering and many people came forward to be interviewed in order that their memories could be recorded and displayed at the following exhibition. A theme was offered each time, for which photos were needed, such as ‘Food and Farming’ or ‘Getting About’.

Our final exhibition was slightly tinged with sadness, when folk saw an end to the reunions, but we promised a book, and finally, that is what we are presenting here.

© Bridget and Dave Bowen, September 2015